When you "reach for the stars" today it may mean reaching in your pocket to get the latest news on your mobile phone. This is the blog of the Emerging Technologies in Journalism course at the University of Missouri.

COLUMBIA- Smoke and students filled MU's speakers circle, watching in shock. The Columbia Fire Department waited two minutes and then began spraying water.

As a part of Safety Week, the fire department placed a mock dorm room on campus. A piece of paper was lit on fire and the rest was history. The paper immediately sparked flames in the mock bedroom. After watching the room burn, the fire department stepped in. The result, a completely destroyed room.

The fire department did this to show students the importance of being safe. All residence halls on the MU campus have a no candle policy and smoke detectors.

Students walking by were also given the opportunity to go up in a fire truck and enjoy a view of campus.

COLUMBIA - Students walking near Speaker's Circle on the University of Missouri campus watched in awe as a dorm room was quickly swallowed up by flames on September 18, 2013.

The blaze was part of the annual Fire Factor event, sponsored by MU Residential Life, Student Life, the Columbia Fire Department and others. Each year, students get the chance to see just how quickly a fire can spread, using the mock dorm room as a point of reference while an announcer from the fire department talks about what is happening throughout the fire.

Freshman Allison Hayes lives in a room in Wolpers residence hall, and could almost visualize her own dorm room as she watched the blaze.

"It was just shocking at how fast it can actually happen," Hayes said. "It was crazy."

After the demonstration was finished, attendees were able to get closer to the room to see the damage. Students were also handed surveys from Residential Life as a ticket for free pizza.

The Columbia Fire Department even set up a few extra attractions of their own, according to Lt. Brian Davison.

One of the more popular activities included a fire truck lift for students to ride.

"The lift is definitely a big hit every year," Lt. Davison said.

Attendees could also try their hand at an obstacle course, very similar to those used to train fire fighters.

COLUMBIA – This year’s Fire Factor, a demonstration by the Columbia
Fire Department that shows how quickly a fire can start and spread in a dorm
room, began with an introduction from Fire Captain John Metz in Speaker’s
Circle on Monday.

The smoke alarm went off 15 seconds after a piece of
paper was lit and tossed into the dorm room. In less than a minute, the room
filled with flames. After about two minutes, the firefighters doused the fire,
which caused thick clouds of smoke to descend upon the surrounding crowd.

During his introduction, Metz noted that although the set, which only has three walls, is meant to imitate a dorm room, the results of a real fire would be different
because four walls retain the heat and causes the fire to spread even faster.

Flames consume the entire room in under one minute as smoke begins to spread out behind the set.

After waiting two minutes, firefighters step in and spray the set with a hose.

Smoke still lingers among the charred remains several minutes after the fire
has been put out.

COLUMBIA - There were Students everywhere, crowded around a charred room, placed awkwardly in the middle of campus. It could have been mayhem, but the only victims were the dorm room furnishings.

On Sept 18., the City of Columbia Fire Department, along with MU Student life and MU Environmental Health and Safety, gave their annual "Fire Factor" demonstration. The event was meant to demonstrate to students just how quickly a fire can spread in a dorm room.

Columbia Fire Captain John Metz spoke during a hot and muggy afternoon about the deadly conditions of dorm room fires, as several hundred students filled a small area of 9th street outside of MU's Ellis Library on Wednesday.

The fire department set up safety ropes to protect on-lookers around the ad-hoc dormitory where it would later ignite and extinguish a fire.

As smoke bellowed out from the "burn room," Metz old the crowd that a fire can completely engulf a dormitory room within two minutes, resulting in extremely deadly temperatures and gases. Soon enough, the fire tore through it's wooden surroundings, engulfing everything in its path, including posters, plastic chairs, and a bed.

After two fire fighters extinguished the blaze, observers were allowed to get a closer look. Students who completed an MU Life survey were also given free pizza after the event and allowed to ascend a fire truck ladder.

MU students and observers stand by to watch the annual Fire Factor fire-safety demonstration on the University of Missouri campus, Sept. 18, 2013.

Mizzou's annual Fire Factor showed the small audience gathered in Speaker's Circle just how dangerous a dorm room fire can be Wednesday afternoon. After a short introduction, Columbia firefighters lit a small fire inside a dorm room replica, which soon turned into minature inferno.

The heat from the fire could be felt by the crowd even though the blaze was relatively small- which was a perfect example for how hot even small room fires can burn.

As Columbia firefighters doused the mock dorm fire, smoke was sent billowing onto a large portion of the audience, which reacted by very quickly vacating the nearby area.

Columbia firefighters extinguish the fire set at this year's Fire Factor.

This was the 13th annual Fire Factor arranged by the Columbia Fire Department Iin coordination with the University of Missouri.

It was plain to see, the anticipation on people's faces and the shock and awe that came upon the crowd when the room burned in a matter of seconds. MU's Fire Factor gathered a huge crowd at Speaker's Circle to educate dorm life the importance of fire awareness.
Columbia Fire Department firefighters put out the fire in about a minute and gave the crowd a play-by-play on how quickly the fire spread and consumed the mock dorm.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Fire Factor 2013 started with a controlled demonstration of a fire spreading through a mock dorm room in Speaker's Circle at MU. Fire Factor is an annual event, designed to raise awareness about fire safety and the importance of smoke alarms.

John Metz is the captain of the Columbia Fire Department and he opened the demonstration by telling the audience what to look for as the fake dorm room burned. He explained how quickly fire can spread and told audience members what to look for as the fire spread.

The room took less than two minutes to be completely engulfed in flames and fire fighters stepped in to stop the fire.

Andrew Backer is a sophomore at MU and he came to Fire Factor 2013 to watch the mock room burn. He said the room burn was educational about just how quickly a dorm room fire can spread.

"I had not realized how flammable my room was," he said.

Backer lives in Hudson Residential Hall at MU and said watching the room burn was a good reminder of fire safety.

"I'll have it that much more in the back of my mind," he said.

After the mock room burn, audience members could get pizza provided by Fire Factor 2013.

Fire Captain John Metz explains what will happen as the mock room burns at MU, Sept. 18, 2013. Fire Factor 2013 is put on jointly by the Columbia Fire Department and MU Residential Life.

Audience members at Fire Factor 2013 line up to watch the mock room burn at MU, Sept. 18, 2013. The room was completely engulfed in flames in less than two minutes.

Columbia fire fighters extinguish the flames at the mock room burn at MU, Sept. 18, 2013. The Columbia Fire Department brought a fire truck to help extinguish the controlled fire.